Christmas gift.

With mom's memory failing, I have no more Santa, so when people ask what I expect for Christmas, I joke about being on the naughty list, so no gift for me! It's important for my mom to go to mass Christmas eve, to be honest I feel like I would be missing something if I didn't as well, so I enjoy taking her. It's a typical country village church, small, white and the people there descended from the original settlers. This year one of our neighbor's sons came home..... with his boyfriend (gasp). I was interested to see how they would be received. At the end of mass, I watched expectantly for the cool stares, the awkward handshakes and the famous "pretend not to notice them" as people quickly brush past. However what I saw were people being excited to see a returned friend and then also offering a warm welcome to someone who was important to that friend. I stood in silence as these hockey playing farm boys gave a welcoming hug to their friend's boyfriend. HIS BOYFRIEND! This was not how things played out in my mind. I could tell it was awkward for them, but awkward in that the hug was their way of saying, I support these guys, letting others see their support. Sometimes it's hard for straight guys to show emotions but when they stand up for friends, they make their point clear. It was uplifting. In that instant I was a little overwhelmed because I knew this was my Christmas gift, and I couldn't ask for better.